New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan is a bold initiative to leverage multiple benefits of using vegetated green stormwater management. Their plan lays out three big goals: 1) Reduce the city’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) volume by an additional 3.8 billion gallons a year (about 2 billion gallons a year more than the all-Grey Strategy); 2) Capture rainfall from 10% of … [Read more...]

During the LID Conference in the late summer in Portland, Maine, one of the sessions on GSI maintenance was especially interesting. It was moderated by Jamie Houle, UNH stormwater Center, who spends a lot of time learning from the people that manage green stormwater infrastructure on a day-to-day basis. New stormwater permits are pushing us in ways that may make some people … [Read more...]

It was just a Dutch-treat dinner during the horticulture industry’s annual AmericanHort trade show in Columbus, but the conversation was dynamic. The scene, Hubbard Grill featuring “modern American cuisine” and some fine local beers. The diners, a group of fascinating individuals across a range of primarily herbaceous green infrastructure expertise. Ann English, Montgomery … [Read more...]

The reality in San Antonio is not, after all, uncommon; many landscape designers have had the experience of completing a project only to later see maintenance fail to uphold the integrity of original plans.
By switching to the ecosystem approach, cities can enjoy a wide range of benefits collectively known as ecosystem services. These include enhanced beauty and recreational … [Read more...]

Tom Ballestero, Director at the University of New Hampshire’s Stormwater Center, is an expert on how wintertime affects bioretention systems. Based years of data collection in green infrastructure systems, he’s seen that even if ice forms on/in sand filters or bioretention cells, it quickly thaws as soon as it rains or the system receives runoff. “Runoff contains enough … [Read more...]